Comment

Yeah, I'm a big fan of online registrations from both the player and TD perspective. It's quick, easy, and efficient.

The only thing is, there is a significant number of technophobic golfers out there (maybe they had a bad trip while watching "2001" back in the 70's?), and I don't think its fair to shut them out. Though if the trend leads to tournaments filling up in a matter of hours b/c of online signups, I can only be so sympathetic to those who refuse to "get with the program". Concerts sell out that way these days on a regular basis...maybe one day we'll have to deal with scalpers at tourneys?

Comment

It's the easiest and fastest way to register besides making it easier on a TD. IMO

Bob

It makes sense that online sign up should be the only way to register, but a couple of things should be in place first:

1) When the tournament date is established, there should be a time and date listed that Registration will start on. FI- GNO registration starts on March 1 at 12pm or somtehing like that. If events are going to sell out in a couple of days, we need to be aware of when the clock starts ticking

2) One registration site vendor. There are too many cooks in the kitchen and half the time the vendors used don't seem to work very well for some folks. Although I have only had a difficulty with one vendor one time and it was quickly resolved.

3) If it is a PDGA event, then the registration list really should be made available in as close to real time as possible.

4) Standardization of Division entry fees. Right now there are so many different fees that I never know what each event will cost until the registration info is posted.

5) There should be club and PDGA discounts for tourney registration fees so non-members have an incentive to join a local club and/or the PDGA

6) Local event TD's should have a mentor they can go to who can show them how to post scores following the event.

Comment

It makes sense that online sign up should be the only way to register, but a couple of things should be in place first:

1) When the tournament date is established, there should be a time and date listed that Registration will start on. FI- GNO registration starts on March 1 at 12pm or somtehing like that. If events are going to sell out in a couple of days, we need to be aware of when the clock starts ticking

5) There should be club and PDGA discounts for tourney registration fees so non-members have an incentive to join a local club and/or the PDGA

.

Agreed there should be a timeline for when registration begins.
There is $10 non member fee to every pdga tournament, that is a huge incentive to join PDGA, as well as getting ratings, points, package etc.. Is that not enough?

Comment

1) When the tournament date is established, there should be a time and date listed that Registration will start on. FI- GNO registration starts on March 1 at 12pm or somtehing like that. If events are going to sell out in a couple of days, we need to be aware of when the clock starts ticking

This is what is happening for the BSF. It will be announced ahead of time WHEN registration is going to open. I can assume that the RCO will be the same since I will have my fingers in the pot so to speak.

Comment

1) When the tournament date is established, there should be a time and date listed that Registration will start on. FI- GNO registration starts on March 1 at 12pm or somtehing like that. If events are going to sell out in a couple of days, we need to be aware of when the clock starts ticking

Hath this whole world been mired in madness?
Remain ye men of faculty complete,
Of full arithmetic and prudence fair,
Attending to our noble bond and contract?
Or does here stand the last remaining man
To give a fig for rules and order yet,
No noble savage, but a stave unbroken
Who loves the law and bids it no misdeed.
Iíll not be bent to lawlessness. Mark it nought, if we be men of honour.

Comment

All of the remaining available spots for a tournament are filled by players who registered on the web. The tournament is now filled to capacity. Some registrations are received in the mail after the available slots have been taken, but which were mailed days before when there were still spots available. The money for those who have registered on the web have already paid. Those who mailed their registrations consider themselves to have paid.

Do you make space for the postal mail registrations?
Do you return the postal mail payments and indicate that the tournament filled before their registration was received and that they did not get in (because they used the postal service instead of the internet)?
Do you offer to waitlist them with the understanding that it is likely that they will not get in?
Based upon postmark dates and online transaction timestamps do you determine who registered 'first' and then tell the remainder, of which may be people from either or both postal mail or online, that they did not make the registration (even though they have paid their registration)?

I am certain such a situation will eventually be seen, or seen more and more frequently over time.

Comment

It makes sense that online sign up should be the only way to register, but a couple of things should be in place first:

1) When the tournament date is established, there should be a time and date listed that Registration will start on. FI- GNO registration starts on March 1 at 12pm or somtehing like that. If events are going to sell out in a couple of days, we need to be aware of when the clock starts ticking

I totally agree. It would be best if the registration materials are available in advance of the begin date too.

2) One registration site vendor. There are too many cooks in the kitchen and half the time the vendors used don't seem to work very well for some folks. Although I have only had a difficulty with one vendor one time and it was quickly resolved.

I disagree with this. It should always be at the discretion of a tournament director as to which online vender they wish to manage the online registrations. It is an implicit necessity that any venders used be reliable and have mechanisms in place for handling customer support situations. Do not kill teh capitalism! Let the free market determine which venders are golden.

3) If it is a PDGA event, then the registration list really should be made available in as close to real time as possible.

Timeliness would be nice but this might not be possible to do in near real time yet. I believe that there are two factors which affect the currentness of the registration list for PDGA tournaments. 1) The length of time it takes for the tournament director to communicate the registrations to the PDGA. 2) The amount of time it takes for the PDGA to update the registration lists. I do not think that there is a good mechanism in place to ensure that either or both of these are done with any guaranteed efficiency so as to obtain near real time registration lists.

6) Local event TD's should have a mentor they can go to who can show them how to post scores following the event.

Eric Edgerton has done an extraordinary job of doing this for Washington state events. It would be great if there are many others who also know how to do this both accurately and quickly. I would go so far as to say that this should be a topic of information required for PDGA tournament officials and that it should also be standard practice for competitive professional disc golfers to know how to do this and to be able to assist as needed as a matter of professional courtesy.

Comment

The uploading process is manual because TDs can get registrations from a variety of sources such as online signup services, mail or in person. They need to enter the names onto the PDGA TD report anyway. So by entering each name just once on the report, it allows the TD to upload registrations before the event and later upload scores during or after the event using the same procedures. Then the names are already there for submitting the report to the PDGA.

I don't see any benefit to a direct electronic pipe from a reg service into the online display since that would mean a process to download names to the TD report would also need to be developed to keep the Excel TD report updated. And that process would have to not overwrite entries the TD had received directly by mail or in person.